Scouring device



Feb. 17, 1942. A. M. GooDLoE ET AL SCOURING DEVICE Filed Dec. 10 1940Patented Feb. 17, 1942 UNiTED. STATE-s Parent ortica Ciesielski,.Newark, N. JL; assignor's to' Metal TextileCorporation, West Orange',N; J., a corporation of Delaware Application December 10,1940,seria1N0.359,4z0

(or. iszm 2 Claims.

This invention relates generally, to an improved scouring device; andVtheinvention has reference, more particularly, to a novel form andconstruction of scouring device made of knitted metallic mesh material.

couring devices for use aspot scrapers and cleaners and for similarcleaning` and polishing services have heretofore been formed fromknitted metallic mesh material, and have comprised more or lessresilient bodies formed of such material, usually by enclosing a waddedmass of the same within covering layers thereof, or by enclosing inlayers of the mesh material, a ller or cushioning mass of separatematerial, whereby a scouring body of sulnciently resilient character isobtained to assure that it will conform to and effectively engage asurface desired to be cleaned when pressed against and rubbed over thelatter. Securing devices-.of thisitype, while eective so far asscrapingaction is corrcerned, by reason of the interior mass of enclosedstuffing or cushioning` material to which cleansing and rinsing watercannot be eiciently applied tends to quickly accumulate grease andothersoil, which, not being thoroughly washed away in rinsing, soondeveloped a sour, dirty and unsanitary conditionl which induced the userto discard the same long before their otherwise useful life was ended.Furthermore, once the outer covering layers of mesh became unduly wornor frayed the utility of the device ended.

Having the above objections to the heretofore known metallic meshscouring devices in mind, it is an object of the instant invention toprovide a novel form and construction of metallic mesh scouring bodywhich, while providing that desired resilient characteristic whereby thesame can readily be conformed to surfaces desired to be scouredtherewith, is nevertheless so made that the same can be opened up, afteruse for eicient application to all parts thereof of cleaning and rinsingwater, to the end that it may be kept sweet and clean throughout a longperiod of useful life.

Another object of this invention is to provide a scouring device made ofknitted metallic mesh in a novel body form, whereby it can be foldedupon itself to provide a desired body mass, and can also be turnedinside out in such manner that various parts thereof may be, optionally,outwardly disposed for direct application to a surface desired to bescoured therewith, thus providing a device adapted for a. comparativelylong useful life.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularlyenumerated, will ,be` un;- derstood from the"A following detailed..description ofthe/Esame.

,An illustrative embodiment of .this invention is shown. in theaccompanying drawing, in which.:

Fig'. l is a face" view of the'novel scouringvdevice according; to thisinvention, with parts broken away to show underlying portions thereof;and Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view, taken on line 24--2in Fig. l, butA show-n schematically.

Similar charactersofreference are employed in the above described views,to indicate corresponding parts.

The novel scouring device according to this'invention is preferably madefromi a.' tubularknit seamless metallic fabric, but'may'falsoibe made,if desired, from layers of single ply or warpfknit metallic fabric. Thefabric may beallf. metal, that isi one knit entirely from metallicmaterial, preferably of aV non-corrosive metal such a's Monel metal,although brass, bronze, steel,4 copper or other metal can, of course,beused;` and preferably from ayribbon-like or flat wire, although Wireof other cross sectional sh'apesma'y be utilized; or the fabric may beknitffrom textile or vegetable ber yarn andmetallic wire in any suitablemanner to produce an abrasive fabric of composite character. v

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, the same is shownas made from a tubular knit metallic fabric. Such tubular knit metallicfabric is rst flattened down to form a two ply sheet I0 of desired area,and then such flat two ply sheet is subjected to suitable means wherebythe same is wrought into corrugate form, the resulting corrugations Ilpreferably, but not necessarily, running obliquely between the foldedges of the sheet. A two ply sheet thus formed is folded lengthwiseupon itself so as to superpose sections A and Bl thereof, in such mannerthat the corrugations of one section cross those of the other (see Fig.l). If desired, instead of folding a single length of the two ply sheetto obtain the superposed sections, separate lengths thereof may beprovided and superposed. In either case the raw or cut end edges I2 ofthe superposed sections will be brought into register, and then thebordering marginal portions thereof suitably secured together, as bystitching, stapling, but preferably, and especially when an all metalfabric is employed, by welding, as indicated at I 3 in Figs. 1 and 2 ofthe drawing The superposed sections, when thus assembled,

will provide a scouring body of rectangular shape having closed marginsalong two opposite sides, and open margins C and D along the otheropposite sides. Owing to this arrangement, the scouring body itself isof a flattened, open ended tubular form, and consequently may be turnedinside out with advantages to be hereinafter more particularly noted.While the scouring device in the form above described comprises but twosuperposed sections A and B, it will be obvious that more than twosections may be employed. It will also be understood, that the scouringbody may be formed of superposed layers of single ply Warp knit fabric,which may be associated together in a manner similar to that abovedescribed, and so as to provide the flexible flat open ended body whichis the preferred form of the scouring device.

When the superposed sections of which the body is formed are providedwith the corrugations Il, so relatively disposed that those of onesection cross those of the other, and consequently do not nest together,the body is thereby given a resilient springy characteristic, wherebythe same is more or less elastically compressible so that it willreadily conform itself to and eiliciently contact a surface desired tobe cleaned when pressed against and rubbed thereover. Another advantageof the corrugate form of the sections is that it operates to set theedges of knitted loops of the fabric, especially when knit from flat orribbon-like wire, at more or less acute angles relative to the faceplane of the body, whereby the abrasive or scraping function thereof iseiciently increased.

The novel scouring body of this invention, being initially flat andflexible, may be easily folded upon itself into various forms of greateror less effective mass best adapted for given scraping and cleaningapplications thereof to utensil or other surfaces desired to be treatedtherewith. After use, however, the body may be quickly unfolded andopened up for quick and thorough rinsing out, and in this connection,may also be easily turned inside out so as to more eiiiciently applyrinsing effect to interior as well as all other parts thereof.

Another advantage of the ability to turn the body inside out is that, byso doing, fresh and intact interior surfaces may be outwardly presentedfor use when the initial outer surfaces have become worn or frayed, thusgreatly eX- tending the useful life of the device, and permittingeffective use of the whole structure for its primary purpose as anabrasive agent without waste.

A somewhat simpler form of the device may be provided by omitting thecorrugations from the sections thereof, desired resiliency beingobtained by folding the body on itself. Such simplified form of scouringbody will, however, retain all the advantages of easy and thoroughrinsing, as well as accessibility of all parts thereof for use due toits reversibility or ability to be quickly and easily turned inside out.

Having now described our invention, we claim:

,1. A scouring device comprising, superposed sections formed fromflexible sheets of knit metallic fabric, said fabric having transversecorrugations impressed therein, the corrugations of contiguous sheetsbeing disposed in angular crossing relation, said superposed sectionsbeing secured together along certain opposite side marginal portionsthereof so as to leave their remaining opposite side marginal portionsdisconnected, thereby to provide an endwise open initially flat bodycapable of being turned inside out at will, and said body being adaptedto be temporarily variously folded upon itself in use.

2. A scouring device comprising, sections of tubular knit fabricflattened into sheet-like form and overlaid one upon another, saidflattened tubular fabric having transverse corrugations impressedtherein, the fabric corrugations of contiguous sections being disposedin angular crossing relation, registered end marginal portions of thesuperposed sections being secured together with the registered sidemarginal portions thereof remaining disconnected, thereby to provide anendwise open initially flat flexible body capable of being turned insideout at will, and said body being adapted to be temporarily variouslyfolded upon itself in use.

ALFRED M. GOODLOE. ADOLPH CIESIELSKI.

